I had reached Ajmer Sharif. It was getting dark now and it was not safe to visit Ghulam Mustafa at this time. Moreover, I needed SOME rest too. Before departing, I asked the truck driver for directions to the shrine. Even though Lal Din was not a Muslim but I knew people from all faiths go to the shrine. The shrine was only about thirty minute walk from where we were. I decided to visit the shrine and find someplace to stay there instead of wasting the money at hotel for food and shelter. I said goodbye to Lal Din and thanked him again for his help and support. He hugged me and asked me to pray for him at the shrine.

I reached the shrine at about 7 pm. Sun had set and the shrine was crowded with all sorts of people. There were adequate arrangements of lights and I could see old, young, men and women of all castes and creed gathered at one big court yard. I felt at home after a long journey. I found a place in one corner and sat there resting my back with the wall. There were few people sleeping there and many others were busy praying. I closed my eyes. Ghulam Mustafa was nearing his end. He was a monster and an evil for this world. He was not only a threat to Nawab Sadiq or his empire but he was a menace for mankind. I had to eliminate him now or he will become too powerful.

I don’t know when I fell asleep. I was woken up by someone shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked at the stranger with amusement. He was a funny kind of guy with irregular beard, wearing a green robe with yellow and red patches at multiple places. He was constantly moving up and down and producing inexplicable sounds. He was holding a thick wooden stick and was banging it on ground. As I woke up, he turned around and started marching to one direction. I kept watching him profoundly. He went some distance then stopped, turned around, looked at me and made a hand gesture to follow him. I was a little confused. I thought:

“Should I go behind him or stay here?”

He stopped again, turned back and gestured me to follow him. This time I had made up my mind. I had a feeling that I will be safe as long as I stay in the shrine. I got up and started following him. He was continuously dancing up and down and going into one particular direction. There were too many people passing through the courtyard. It was difficult to see him from a distance so I started walking swiftly. After reaching at the Western end, he disappeared. I can swear that he was there right in front of me and the next moment he vanished into thin air. I shook my head as I might have been hallucinating. I was still feeling very tired and hungry. There was some kind of smell in the area as well which was making my head spin. When I was about to turn back and go to my spot, someone touched my right arm. I turned my head to the right and saw this man with a long thin white beard. He was wearing a white turban and looked like some very respectable person. I was mesmerized for a moment. I wanted to say something but words got stuck in my throat. He was looking at me smilingly. He then asked:

“You must be Yousaf Jamal Shah!”

It was less of a question and more of a confirmation. Very few people knew my full name. He was certainly one of them. I opted to remain quiet. He then put his hand on my shoulder and said in an affirming voice:

“I am here to help you. You should trust me.”

He then started walking towards a dark corner away from the courtyard. I inadvertently followed him. My mind was reasoning with me to stop but my feet were not in my control anymore. After reaching to a series of rooms, he entered into the first room and left the door open. I followed him. As I stepped in the room, I saw two more people sitting there. One of them was the same dancing faqir who had woken me up and the other person was a young strong man with a small black beard. There was sufficient light in the room to see their expressions. Faqir had a big smile on his face but the young man clearly had an annoying expression. He was not happy to see me and he expressed it too:

“I told you Rehman Baba, this man is a pure trouble.”

The old man who had guided me to this room sat down and said, “Sit down Yousaf Shah. We are here on the same mission. Kamal Khan prefers to work alone that’s why he is not happy to see you.”

Pointing towards the faqir, Rehamn Baba said, “His name is Hari Singh. He is a Sikh and a very capable illusionist. We have hired him to help us killing the beast.”

I was still confused as to how did they know about me. Rehman Baba seemed to be some kind of wizard. He must have used his magic or his super natural powers to find out about me. I was in fact a little terrified from him. So, the first question I popped up was the same.

“How do you know about me and my mission?”

This time all three started smiling. Rehman Baba looked at me and said, “You should first eat and take rest.”

He then pointed towards the food which was already laid at the table. The aroma of the food was overwhelming. I forgot about my question which was not yet answered and took the plate of rice in my hand and finished it in five minutes. As I drank a glass of water, I felt my heart sinking. My eyes started getting heavy. The last thing I remember was Hari Singh jumping up and down again and producing silly voices.

I got up early next morning. I was in the same room where I had met Rehman Baba, Kamal Khan and Hari Singh. There were only two charpoys in the room on which me and Rehman Baba was sleeping whereas Kamal Khan and Hari Singh were sleeping on ground. I remembered the events of last night and how I was drugged. I suddenly felt threatened. I slowly rose from charpoy and tried to sneak out. The door was locked from inside. As I opened the door, quietly stepped outside and froze. My heart jumped into my throat. What I saw was unbelievable. I had just left Rehman Baba in the room sleeping and there he was now standing in front of me with a broad smile on his face. It was still early morning. I looked around in the courtyard of the shrine. Sun was about to rise but most of the people there were sleeping. Very few people were up and saying prayers. I looked at Rehman Baba. He was still standing in the same pose. I initially thought that he is some illusion or my mind is playing tricks but then he spoke and broke the spell.

“Go back to the room. We are not finished yet.”

I replied to him in a distressing voice, “I need to go to washroom. I seem to have eaten something bad at night.”

“Then I will go with you,” he said.

He started walking towards southern end of the courtyard where I could see some people standing in queue. I followed him like an obedient servant. While joining the queue, he whispered in my ear.

“We drugged you so that you can take some rest. You had a good sleep and now ready to take part in the operation to kill the beast.”

I looked at him suspiciously but said nothing. After a while we returned to the room and I was amazed to see Rehman Baba still sleeping. I looked back at the person who had accompanied me. He was a look alike of Rehman Baba or his twin but he told me to sit. I sat down on the charpoy and he sat on the chair. Pointing at the Rehman Baba, he said, “We are brothers and work here for the same cause.”

He got close to me again and said, “You must be wondering about us and that how do we know about you…”

He continued:

“Well, we are part of the shrine guards. We investigate wrong doings here and provide justice to poor. We had so many complaints of missing people but had no clue till we met a soldier from the state of Bahawalpur. We found him hiding in a store. He was terrified and was burning with fever. We brought him to our station, treated him well and fed him. We asked him about the problem. Initially, he was hesitant but seeing our good behaviour with him, he told us about the beast. We did not believe him at first but after he left, we started surveillance of the house of Ghulam Mustafa. We found nothing wrong there till we suspected that not everyone who goes inside comes out.”

The other three persons sleeping in the room were now awake as we talk. Kamal Khan and Hari Singh went out to freshen up. Rehman Baba also got up and joined the conversation.

“After two weeks of surveillance, we were absolutely sure that two men did not return from the house of Ghulam Mustafa. It was then that we hired Hari Singh and sent him in the beast’s den. He acted as an insane person and stayed there for three days. We started worrying and were planning to raid that house when Hari Singh came out on third night. The story he told us was horrendous.”

Rehman Baba stopped to take a pause and his brother started revealing the remaining details.

“Hari Singh told us that for one day he kept lying on ground acting as insane person. People came and went past him but on second day he was picked up by someone and taken to a basement. There he saw one person already tied to a pillar with chains. He was alive but did not seem to be in senses. Hari Singh was also tied to a pillar. A small lamp was burning there at all the times. The light was enough to see around. The murky light of the lamp presented a bone chilling scene. Human remains were scattered all around. It was a big room with corner so dark that they made everything invisible.”

In the meantime, Kamal Khan and Hari Singh had returned with breakfast in their hands. Rehman Baba had already left. They both sat down and placed the stuff on table. They all started eating and asked me to join in. I was wondering about Rehman Baba when his brother spoke.

“He is not coming back. He will keep a watch at the beast’s house till noon.”

I also picked up a paratha and started eating it with tea. When we were finished, Hari Singh spoke for the first time.

“The things I saw in that basement were horrific. I saw two people come in there. They opened chains of the prisoner who was already tied there before me and dragged him to the center of the room. They tied him upside down and cut his jugular vein. A bucket that was already placed right under the spot filled with blood very soon that they took it upstairs. Before going up, he told the other man to dispose of the body.”

Hari Singh paused again. Talking about that experience made him shiver. I was having goose bumps too. My resolve to kill the beast was getting shaky. I was thinking about Saman and Shahzadi. I should choose between these two and enjoy rest of my life. Marrying both of them was another option which brought smile to my face. I looked up at Hari Singh. He started smiling too like he read my thoughts. I sheepishly hid my mouth with the right hand. Hari Singh started shaking his head left and right. Then he got up and started the dance of life and death.